• The fourth edition of Madird Urban Sports will be held from 14 to 18 June with Breaking, BMX, Scooter and Skateboarding competitions
  • Jose Luís Martinez – Almeida, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Alfredo Relaño and Ana ‘Furia’ Ortega will participate in a round table to talk about the growth of these urban sports

In recent years, urban sports have had an exponential growth within the sports scene, sports mainly practiced and followed by young people who have gone from competing in the streets to land in the Olympic villages. Madrid has been the national loudspeaker for the practice of these sports and since 2020 hosts the Madrid Urban Sports, located in Madrid Rio, one of the most recognised events by national and international athletes and which this year expects to host 480 athletes from more than 28 countries.

José Luís Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, argued that “Sport is in the streets and this is of enormous benefit to society. These disciplines do not require a lot of infrastructure, only the sensitivity to provide the necessary means and talent does the rest. So in terms of image, it is very good for Madrid to open up to these new realities”.

Last step for the Olympics

Skateboarding, BMX, 3×3 Basketball and Climbing burst onto the Olympic scene at Tokyo 2020 and, at Paris 2024, Breaking, one of the most artistic disciplines of urban sports, will do the same. Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Vice-President, commented on the paradigm shift in Olympic sports, saying that “before, the Olympic spirit was in the stadiums and now, in the 21st century, these values have to be opened up to society, in the streets”.

The Breaking and BMX competitions will qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Breaking competition has the support of the WDSF and the Spanish Dance Sport Federation, a final step towards its debut as an Olympic discipline at Paris 2024. Ana ‘Furia’ Ortega has half a foot in Paris and, together with the discipline, hopes to make her debut at the Olympic Games. The 28-year-old BGirl from Barcelona explains how life has changed her life, “I have gone from training in rooms to being in the CARO with Ray Zapata, one of the greatest exponents of Spanish Olympic sport”.

New sporting offer

The conquest of urban sports has also been reflected in the sporting reality of the city of Madrid. Since MUS has been established in the capital, 7 new skateparks and a dozen BMX and Skate schools have been opened. According to a PWC report, the exponential growth of the practice and followers of Urban Sports ranks it in fourth place among the sports with the greatest potential for growth among audiences. The great repercussion and diffusion of these sports lies in the athletes themselves in their social networks, showing their tricks, advances and competitions, the athlete shows himself with a direct contact with his young followers.

Urban sports are consolidated in Madrid with the fourth edition of the MUS, a city event that demonstrates the paradigm shift of urban sports and their connection with the youth of Madrid.